President Tinubu Unveils Climate Accountability Portal, Plans Cost-Saving Measures For COP29

President Bola Tinubu authorized the creation of the Climate Accountability and Transparency Portal, stressing that the government will implement cost-saving measures to save nearly ₦10 billion during COP29.

The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29) is all set to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from Nov. 11 to Nov. 22.

Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action Chief Ajuri Ngelale shared this information during a media briefing on Tuesday, apart from providing details regarding the expenditure plan of the upcoming COP29 event.

"President Bola Tinubu is fully aware of and sensitive to the economic conditions confronting our people, and as a result, he approved an audit of the expenditure profile of last year's COP 28 climate conference," Ngelale said, as per the official State House website.

"While there was deliberate misinformation regarding the delegation size, our investigation clearly identified inefficiencies that required immediate remedies."

The president approved the creation of the Climate Accountability and Transparency Portal (CAT-P), which will be set up by the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action and the National Council on Climate Change.

This portal will allow Nigerians to see how many delegates are attending COP29 later this year.

CAT-P will provide a transparent view of all delegation members from various ministries, departments, agencies, and the legislative branch, showing who is attending and who the government is sponsoring to COP29.

Ngelale mentioned that there were concerns about the size of Nigeria's delegation and the costs associated with COP28 in Dubai. Due to this, Tinubu authorized an audit to understand what went wrong and prevent similar inefficiencies in the future.

The audit found that COP28 had significant wasteful spending, including nearly $500,000 on a showcase pavilion and other unnecessary sub-contracts and consultancies. This review aims to ensure that spending before COP29 contributes to the economic empowerment of Nigerians and the development of the nation.

"Anyone who is not engaging in activities that are directly linked to the attraction of climate engagement, business opportunity, and ushering new finance into the country will not be part of the federal government's delegation this time around," the Special Envoy said.

Tinubu instructed State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa on Jan. 9 that during a foreign trip, local security agencies should be used instead of taking a high number of security officials from Abuja.

During international trips, not more than 20 people will be allowed to travel with the president. However, the number of accompanying staff will be cut down to five for the first lady and vice president. The same applies to the vice president's wife.

This decision was announced after Nigerians slammed the Tinubu-led administration for allegedly sending 1,411 Nigerian delegates to attend the COP28 summit in Dubai amid the economic hardships faced by the country.